WHITE PLAINS, NY -- AJC Westchester/Fairfield announced that it will be holding a moot court debate between noted First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams and AJC General Counsel Marc Stern. They will debate the merits of a case involving undocumented aliens on a college campus. In this divisive period following the election, this is truly an issue for our time. The debate will take place at this year’s Judge Learned Hand Award dinner. The award is the organization’s most prestigious recognition of excellence bestowed upon members of the legal profession. It will take place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in White Plains on Thursday, December 1st at 6:00-9:30 p.m. Limited press passes available.

This year, two couples in the legal profession will be honored for the first time. This will also be the first time AJC will honor a couple from Westchester County and a couple from Fairfield County in recognition of the region’s successful endeavors to cover both counties. Westchester attorneys and Scarsdale couple Ellen Jancko-Baken of Fredman Baken & Kosan LLP in White Plains and Scott Baken of Jackson Lewis P.C.in White Plains, and Fairfield attorneys and Stamford couple Kathryn Emmett, Corporation Counsel for the City of Stamford and David Golub of Silver Golub & Teitell LLP in Stamford will be the sixth recipients of the AJC Westchester/Fairfield Judge Learned Hand Award.

AJC established the Learned Hand Award in 1964 to cite leaders in the legal profession for excellence and for their contributions to the legal community. The recipients of this award are people who embody much of what the Judge represented: the rights of the individual and the importance of democratic values in an orderly society. This philosophy also sums up a major thrust of the American Jewish Committee’s work and the programs it has promoted since its inception in 1906.

Ellen Jancko-Baken is a matrimonial attorney who specializes in Collaborative Law and is a founding partner of Fredman Baken & Kosan LLP in White Plains. She is the Chairperson of the Family Law Section of the Westchester County Bar Association, a member of the Bar in New York and Connecticut, a Board Member of the Westchester Jewish Council, and a Past President of Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El.

Scott Baken is a Principal with the national workplace law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. who specializes in Employment Law and related litigation. Scott is a seasoned trial attorney who teaches CLE programs on trial advocacy, has been recognized as a New York Metro Super Lawyer and co-coordinates Jackson Lewis’ reduction in force practice. Scott has served as a Board Member of the Holocaust and Human Rights Eduction Center and the Westchester Jewish Council.

Kathryn Emmet is the Corporation Counsel of the City of Stamford. She serves on the Board of Governors of the CT Trial Lawyers Association, is President of the Board of the Center for Children’s Advocacy, Treasurer of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ferguson Library. Prior she was a partner in Emmett & Glander, a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School, and served as Judge for the Connecticut Superior Court in the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District.

David Golub is a litigator and partner in Silver Golub & Teitell LLP with offices throughout Connecticut. He served as lead private counsel for the State of Connecticut in its successful action against the tobacco industry. David has taught Trial Practice at Yale Law School and University of Connecticut Law School and has several published works. He was the recipient of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Annual Award and was recently named one of the “Best Lawyers in America for 2017.”

Some 250 guests, including numerous judges, officials and diplomats are expected to pay tribute to the honorees at the dinner which will feature a mock Moot Court on the topic of free speech vs harassment on college campuses. The honorees, Ms. Jancko-Baken, Mr. Baken, Ms. Emmett and Mr. Golub will act as the judges for the oral advocates. Dinner Chair and New Rochelle resident Mark Alcott of Paul Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York City will preside over the evening.